Rumours is the kind of album that transcends its origins and reputation, entering the realm of legend — it’s an album that simply exists outside of criticism and outside of its time, even if it thoroughly captures its era. Prior to this LP, Fleetwood Mac were moderately successful, but here they turned into a full-fledged phenomenon, with Rumours becoming the biggest-selling pop album to date. While its chart success was historic, much of the legend surrounding the record is born from the group’s internal turmoil. Unlike most bands, Fleetwood Mac in the mid-’70s were professionally and romantically intertwined, with no less than two couples in the band, but as their professional career took off, the personal side unraveled. Bassist John McVie and his keyboardist/singer wife Christine McVie filed for divorce as guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks split, with Stevie running to drummer Mick Fleetwood, unbeknown to the rest of the band. These personal tensions fueled nearly every song on Rumours, which makes listening to the album a nearly voyeuristic experience. You’re eavesdropping on the bandmates singing painful truths about each other, spreading nasty lies and rumors and wallowing in their grief, all in the presence of the person who caused the heartache. Everybody loves gawking at a good public breakup, but if that was all that it took to sell a record, Richard and Linda Thompson‘s Shoot Out the Lights would be multi-platinum. No, what made Rumours an unparalleled blockbuster is the quality of the music. Once again masterminded by producer/songwriter/guitarist Buckingham, Rumours is an exceptionally musical piece of work — he toughens Christine McVie and softens Nicks, adding weird turns to accessibly melodic works, which gives the universal themes of the songs haunting resonance. It also cloaks the raw emotion of the lyrics in deceptively palatable arrangements that made a tune as wrecked and tortured as “Go Your Own Way” an anthemic hit. But that’s what makes Rumours such an enduring achievement — it turns private pain into something universal. Some of these songs may be too familiar, whether through their repeated exposure on FM radio or their use in presidential campaigns, but in the context of the album, each tune, each phrase regains its raw, immediate emotional power — which is why Rumours touched a nerve upon its 1977 release, and has since transcended its era to be one of the greatest, most compelling pop albums of all time.

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Fleetwood Mac are a British-American band formed in 1967, in London. The band achieved more modest success between 1971 and 1974, when the line-up included Bob Welch, during the 1990s in between the departure and return of Nicks and Buckingham, and during the 2000s when Christine McVie was absent.

Live is a double live album released by Fleetwood Mac in 1980. It was the first live album from the then-current line-up of the band.
This 1980, 2 album live set captures Fleetwood Mac at the height of its platinum popularity, performing such durable faves as “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams,” “Say You Love Me,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Over My Head,” “Monday Morning,” and “Sara.” The band’s energetic performances put a fresh spin on the familiar material.
Of particular note are three new songs — Christine McVie’s “One More Night”, Stevie Nicks’ “Fireflies”, and a well-harmonized backstage rendition of The Beach Boys‘ “The Farmer’s Daughter”. The latter two were released as singles, but only “Fireflies” charted. “Don’t Let Me Down Again” is a song from the Buckingham Nicks album. Also notable are two Lindsey Buckingham guitar showcases. The first, “I’m So Afraid”, was popular as a concert finale during this period. The second was Buckingham’s take on former Mac guitarist Peter Green’s signature number, “Oh Well” (originally a 1969 single release).

Tusk is the twelfth album by the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Released in 1979, it is considered experimental, primarily due to Lindsey Buckingham‘s sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of punk rock and new wave on his production techniques.

At the time of its release, it was a flop, never reaching the top of the charts and never spawning a true hit single, despite two well-received Top Ten hits. Coming after the monumental Rumours, this was a huge disappointment, but the truth of the matter is that Fleetwood Mac couldn’t top that success no matter how hard they tried, so it was better for them to indulge themselves and come up with something as unique as Tusk. Lindsey Buckingham directed both Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, but he dominates here, composing nearly half the album, and giving Christine McVie‘s and Stevie Nicks‘ songs an ethereal, floating quality that turns them into welcome respites from the seriously twisted immersions into Buckingham‘s id. This is the ultimate cocaine album — it’s mellow for long stretches, and then bursts wide open in manic, frantic explosions, such as the mounting tension on “The Ledge” or the rampaging “That’s Enough for Me,” or the marching band-driven paranoia of the title track, all of which are relieved by smooth, reflective work from all three songwriters. While McVie and Nicks contribute some excellent songs, Buckingham owns this record with his nervous energy and obsessive production, winding up with a fussily detailed yet wildly messy record unlike any other. This is mainstream madness, crazier than Buckingham‘s idol Brian Wilson and weirder than any number of cult classics. Of course, that’s why it bombed upon its original release, but Tusk is a bracing, weirdly affecting work that may not be as universal or immediate as Rumours, but is every bit as classic. As a piece of pop art, it’s peerless. The album polarized critics and the public alike upon its initial release, although the album has since been reevaluated over time and praised for its experimentation. In 2013, NME ranked Tusk at number 445 in their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Side one
1. Over & Over (4:36)
2. The Ledge (2:02)
3. Think About Me (2:44)
4. Save Me a Place (2:40)
5. Sara (6:27)

Side two
1. What Makes You Think You’re the One (3:32)
2. Storms (5:29)
3. That’s All for Everyone (3:04)
4. Not That Funny (3:13)
5. Sisters of the Moon (4:40)

Mirage is the 13th studio album by Fleetwood Mac, released on June 18, 1982. Following a hiatus of over a year after the completion of the worldwide Tusk tour, the band temporarily relocated to Château d’Hérouville in France to record a new album. By this time Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had each commenced a solo career.

Mirage found the band venturing further into radio-friendly soft rock than it had in any of its previous incarnations. It stood in stark contrast to its highly experimental predecessor, 1979’s Tusk. Mirage yielded several hit singles: “Hold Me“, “Love in Store“, “Oh Diane” and “Can’t Go Back“.

The Stevie Nicks composition “Gypsy” was the second single from the album and was accompanied by a lengthy video, the highest-budget music video ever produced at the time, directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was the very first “World Premiere Video” on MTV in 1982.

Of the other two compositions from Stevie Nicks on the album, “That’s Alright” dated back to the Buckingham/Nicks days of 1974, whilst “Straight Back” was written in the winter of 1981 and referred to her separation from (then) lover, producer Jimmy Iovine, and the huge wrench she experienced having to leave her newly established and highly successful solo career to re-join Fleetwood Mac for the 1982 project.

Side one
1. Love in Store (3:14)
2. Can’t Go Back (2:42)
3. That’s Alright (3:09)
4. Book of Love (3:21)
5. Gypsy (4:24)
6. Only Over You (4:08)

Side two
1. Empire State (2:51)
2. Straight Back (4:17)
3. Hold Me (3:44)
4. Oh Diane (2:33)
5. Eyes of the World (3:44)
6. Wish You Were Here (4:45)